Beauty and brains

There may be some truth in that saying “I’m more than just a pretty face” because according to a new study, handsome men and beautiful women tend to be more intelligent than their not-so-good-looking counterparts…

We really envy Natalie Portman. Not only is she one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood (and got to snog Jude Law in the 2004 film Closer), the actress also has a degree in psychology from Harvard University. And the stereotypical notion that attractive people lack brains is set to be shattered by a new study carried out by The London School of Economics, where experts have found that good-looking men and women are actually quite bright. In fact, studies have shown that they have IQs which are, on average, 14 points above the norm.

What’s more, the research also suggests that the children of beautiful couples would also end up with both beauty and brains, much like their parents.

The findings, based on UK and US studies, also revealed that men who are physically attractive had IQs an average 13.6 points above the average, while women were about 11.4 points higher.

"Physical attractiveness is significantly positively associated with general intelligence, both with and without controls for social class, body size and health," said lead researcher Satoshi Kanazawa, who carried out the study. "The association between attractiveness and general intelligence is also stronger among men than among women."

He added, however, that his findings were statistical and should not be applied to individuals, saying that “it goes without saying that our contention that beautiful people are more intelligent is purely scientific. It is not a prescription for how to treat or judge others.”

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